Although I knew that Nangong had always been secretive, I was still surprised that he was so familiar with the mausoleum. I stared at his back in a daze and didn't say anything for a long time.
Not only me, but Zhang Kanwen was also stunned by Nangong. After a while, he frowned and asked me, "Your friend … is he familiar with this place?"
I shook my head and smiled wryly. "I'm not sure … but he's walking a different path. Whether he's familiar or not, it doesn't have much to do with us."
Zhang Kanwen took his master's order very seriously. Although he didn't say it out loud, I knew that the Han family's sudden addition had put a lot of pressure on him. Now that Nangong, who seemed to be very familiar with the mausoleum, had suddenly appeared, it was inevitable that he would overthink things. What I said was also a bit of an explanation.
Zhang Kanwen nodded, accepting my explanation. He lifted his feet and walked to the leftmost fork.
I brought the little zombie and followed behind him. As we walked, I thought about Nangong's purpose for coming here.
This guy had purposely approached me before I started learning Daoism. Every time he appeared, he either saved me or advised me to practice witchcraft energy. I already knew that he was most likely the "remnant of the witch tribe" that the Metaphysics Society had mentioned.
Moreover, he was different from me. I had only started practicing Daoism halfway, but he was most likely a true "witch tribe".
Could it be that his visit to the mausoleum was related to his identity as a witch tribe member?
While I was making wild guesses, I quickly followed Zhang Kanwen and entered the depths of the fork.
This fork deviated to the left. After walking for about thirty meters, the narrow and low tunnel suddenly disappeared, and the surroundings became open.
The flashlight in my hand could only illuminate the surroundings. However, with my strong eyesight, I could clearly see the surroundings in the darkness.
This was a large hall that was more than ten meters wide. Compared to the simple cave outside the tunnel, this hall was much bigger, and more importantly, more exquisite.
There were more than ten long stone carvings erected around the hall. On top of them were some human figures. Although I couldn't see them clearly in the darkness, it didn't stop me from feeling their exquisiteness.
In addition, there were all kinds of tables, chairs, boxes, and cabinets in the hall. They were all carved from stone and looked simple and heavy. The outside of them was carved with fine patterns. Although a small part of them was broken, most of them were well preserved.
I clicked my tongue in admiration. If these were artifacts from the Shang Dynasty, they had been preserved for three to four thousand years. I wondered what kind of material these stones were made of. They were so durable.
While I was observing the surrounding scenery, Zhang Kanwen also stopped in his tracks. He didn't look around randomly like I did. Instead, his gaze was fixed in front of him. His eyes flickered with light. It was obvious that he was calculating something.
I followed his gaze and realized that there were a few more tunnels in front of us. It was obvious that he was looking for the path to the Spring Offering Ground.
I couldn't help him with this matter, so I simply walked to the nearest artifact and observed it.
It was an item that looked like a chest in the future. It was made of stone, and the outside was carved with complicated patterns. There was a piece of paper on the top. I looked at it and saw that it was written in modern simplified Chinese characters. It said, "Shang Dynasty Stone Carving Suitcase No. 376."
I was bewildered for a while before I reacted. This place should have been excavated by archaeologists. Perhaps it was inconvenient to move these stone carvings, or they weren't easy to preserve after they were taken out.
I opened the suitcase, which was empty. However, there was a fingernail-sized shell lying quietly in the rightmost corner. I picked it up and played with it.
While I was bored and was about to check the next stone carving, Zhang Kanwen finally stopped pondering. He pointed at the second tunnel from the left and said, "It should be this way. Let's go!"
I hurried to follow him with the little zombie. After a few steps into the tunnel, a stone wall appeared in front of us. It was a dead end.
I wanted to ask Zhang Kanwen if he had taken us the wrong way, but he took the lead and said, "Zhou Yi, hold my hand."
I was bewildered. Before I could react, Zhang Kanwen had already turned around. He held the little zombie with his left hand and extended his right hand to me. He explained, "This isn't a dead end. It's a mechanism. If we want to pass, we have to use a secret technique.
Hold me. I'll take you two over. "
I understood what he meant. I awkwardly grabbed his arm.
Then, Zhang Kanwen's mouth moved slightly and he chanted a few words. Then, I saw something the size of a book appear in front of his chest. Through his clothes, I could see a strong golden light.
The golden light only appeared for about five seconds before it suddenly disappeared. It seemed to merge with Zhang Kanwen's body.
At the same time, Zhang Kanwen's aura suddenly changed. The unique aura of a Heavenly Master that he had when he was facing Lu Chengyi appeared again.
I suddenly reacted. Zhang Kanwen had used the power of the 'Song of Righteousness' to temporarily enter the Heavenly Master's realm!
I couldn't help but raise my head to look at the stone wall in front of me. What kind of mechanism is this? It requires a Heavenly Master's realm to pass through?
While I was thinking, Zhang Kanwen grabbed me and the little zombie. He stomped his feet on the ground and leaped up.
Although this tunnel was much larger than when we had entered from the outside, it was only about three meters high. If Zhang Kanwen jumped like that, his head would definitely hit the mountain wall. Not only him, but me and the little zombie would also suffer. However, I didn't have time to resist as my body was lifted up by him. Zhang Kanwen's current Heavenly Master power didn't allow me to resist at all.
Just as I was about to scream, I didn't feel my head hit the mountain wall. I only felt as if I had hit a thin film. Then, my body kept flying up.
I hastily looked around and realized that I was in a spacious space without a single ray of light. With my cultivation base, I could roughly see that this was an extremely spacious space. It was even more spacious than the underground hall in Shenzhen, which was around a hundred meters wide.
Zhang Kanwen finally stopped his upward movement. He steadied his body in the air and slowly descended.
After falling for dozens of meters, my feet shook and I finally felt the ground.
After landing, Zhang Kanwen panted heavily. He hurriedly told me, "Protect me. I need to adjust my breathing for a while."
Then, he sat down cross-legged and suppressed his panting. He used his Taoist energy to adjust his body.
After all, he had relied on the ancient book of the Song of Righteousness to enter the Heavenly Master's realm. It wasn't his own power. Just now, he had flown with the little zombie and me. I guessed that his Taoist energy had been used up.
The inside of the Shang Dynasty's royal tomb was mysterious and strange. I didn't dare to be negligent. I asked the little zombie to guard the right side of Zhang Kanwen's body while I guarded the left side. I also sat down cross-legged and mobilized the Taoist energy in my body, paying close attention to the surrounding situation.
The surroundings were very quiet. This kind of silence was difficult to experience in the outside world. It was a kind of absolute silence without a trace of sound.
In the beginning, this silence was very comfortable, but after more than ten minutes, this silence made people frown. This was because in this absolute silence, the sound of one's breathing and even heartbeat could be clearly transmitted to one's ears, causing an inexplicable sense of panic in one's heart.
After an hour, besides the sound of breathing and heartbeat, there was another sound. I couldn't tell what it was. It was just a meaningless noise. At first, it was very subtle. However, as time passed, it became louder and louder until it sounded like thunder.
At this moment, I heard this kind of sound. However, I was clear-headed enough to realize that it wasn't really a sound. It was similar to tinnitus, a sound that people imagined out of thin air.
I frowned and mobilized the Taoist energy in my body to circulate around my body. It was easy to expel this kind of non-existent sound.
Just as I was about to turn around to check on Zhang Kanwen's condition, I suddenly felt my palm heat up. I lowered my head and saw that it was the small shell that I had played with outside the hall.
Why is this shell heating up?
I was stunned. I remembered that when I had used my Taoist energy to circulate around my body, my Taoist energy seemed to have touched the shell …
With that thought, I quickly mobilized my Taoist energy and directed it towards the shell. As expected, the shell heated up again.